If Hamilton, Morrisville-Eaton merge, which community will get high school?

By NICK WILL

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

HAMILTON -- The Joint Community Advisory Committees for the Morrisville-Eaton and Hamilton Central School District merger analysis met Tuesday to go over labor relations and different building configuration possibilities.

The meeting was the seventh conducted by the study team in conjunction with 15 members of the Morrisville-Eaton community and 15 members of the Hamilton community. By merging, the schools would see a 40 percent increase in incentive aid from the state for five years; the amount would reduce 5 percent every subsequent year.

By mid-January, the study should be completed, at which point the report will be given to the Department of Education. From there, each community will determine whether or not to go through with voting on the merger.

The labor relations portion of the meeting was brief and highlighted the similarities in labor contracts in both districts. The schools' policies are similar, and the committee determined the areas that would pose the biggest issues would be insurance benefits and retirement packages, though these are common discrepancies for mergers according to the state, and the differences in M-E and Hamilton are minor.

There were two building configurations highlighted during the presentation:

Option C would use the current M-E High School building for grades 9-12 and the Hamilton building for the middle school.

Option D would use the Hamilton school building for the high school and use the M-E building for the middle school.

Kindergarten through fifth grade would remain in their current locations to ease transition and maintain transportation for younger students.

Members of the committee weighed in on the positive and negative aspects of both proposals.

Proponents of Option C said that having the high school in Morrisville would create a more secure, almost closed campus. This is because Hamilton seniors are given the option to leave the facility during lunch periods and the proximity to the downtown area gives students opportunities to go into town before practices.

Some of the committee members viewed the downtown proximity to Hamilton as opportunities for walking field trips and access to Colgate University.

Colgate was one issue that was also brought up. Colgate has close ties to Hamilton, and although Colgate students do tutor and volunteer at both schools on various levels, supporters of the high school staying in Hamilton fear that moving would mean high school students may lose some of their opportunities through Colgate programs and some of the college's volunteers.

The issue of sports facilities was raised as well, though the committee agreed that the discrepancies between each facility were minor and transportation could be worked out in either scenario. Hamilton students already ride to the Morrisville facility for the schools' joint MEH track and football programs.

From the data gathered by the study, capacity is not projected to be a problem. If the high school were located in Hamilton, the building would reach 92 percent capacity. If the high school were in Morrisville, the capacity would sit at 72 percent. These numbers are based on maximum projected enrollment, and are most likely high, the panelists were told.

The biggest issue that the configurations face is local response. Loss of high school identity would have an impact in either community.

"Our kids will adapt easily, that is not the issue," said LeeAnne Lakes, a teacher at M-E Elementary and an M-E parent. "The real issue is the adults in each community."

At the next meeting, which is still to be announced, the committee will have a completed study from the state to look directly at costs, transportation, labor and a final configuration plan.